Posted!

Join the Conversation

Comments

Welcome to our new and improved comments, which are for subscribers only.
This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.
You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.

You will need to register before adding a comment.
Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.

Please be polite.
It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.
If you see comments in violation of our community guidelines, please report them.

Granger's tattoos keeps hometown everywhere he goes

Auburn senior forward Jordan Granger will make his final return to his home state of Missouri. The St. Louis native represents his hometown in tattoos down his right arm.(Photo: Matthew Stevens/Advertiser Photo)

AUBURN – Jordan Granger doesn’t need to figuratively wear his hometown area on his sleeve because it’s literally down his entire right arm.

Some of Granger’s many tattoos represent the largest city in the Show Me State of Missouri as his right arm has the historic Gateway Arch, the St. Louis Cardinals birds on bat logo and the St. Louis Rams near his bicep.

“It’s a lot of pressure because every time going back home, my family really doesn’t get to see me because I’m in Alabama, so I really got to play well and get a win on the road here in Missouri,” Granger said on Thursday.

CLOSE

Auburn G/F Jordan Granger talks about going back to home state of Missouri.

Granger’s story begins in the hostile area of East St. Louis and Auburn coach Bruce Pearl says his four-year career with the Tigers program has helped transformed him on and off the court. According to the latest FBI data, East St. Louis has one of the highest crime and murder rates in the country and is just 20 minutes from the noted town of Ferguson, which got national publicity these past couple of years. Granger, who is averaging 2.9 points per game in 16.5 minutes per contest this season was able to transform his basketball talents into a ticket out of the scary situation of East St. Louis and be a productive member of an Auburn basketball team looking to simply get a road win Saturday night (8 p.m., ESPN2).

“He's one of the guys in a long list of guys that will be an Auburn man forever,” Pearl said Thursday. “Auburn changed him. It was in him, but it took a university like this, a community like this, a ministry like this to be able to unlock a really good man. So anyways, I'm happy for Jordon and we rely on him pretty heavily.”

Granger said this week he expects between 16-20 friends and family in attendance at Mizzou Arena to watch him in the same place he won two straight state championships at McCluer North High School. Granger moved to the Missouri side of the East St. Louis border before starting high school to be closer to his grandmother and the 2012 Missouri Player of the Year was recruited by then-Missouri head coach Mike Anderson before he left for Arkansas.

“To be honest, growing up I really was an Illinois fan because my family’s from Illinois side of East St. Louis, so I kind of grew up a fan of them,” Granger said.

CLOSE

Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl talks matchup at Missouri.

In his final season of college basketball, Granger has tried to learn a completely new position of small forward after previously playing consistently at power forward position. With Auburn needing perimeter depth due to the massive amounts of injuries including Tahj Shamsid-Deen (shoulder), T.J. Dunans (knee) and New Williams (knee), Auburn has needed Granger’s skills immediately.

With only three scholarship guards traveling to Missouri, Auburn (7-6, 1-1 in Southeastern Conference) will need the senior leadership of Granger and leading scorer Kareem Canty to pick up a win in their first SEC road game.

“Jordon is always going to play hard,” Pearl said. “He's a good defender, a good athlete and he's a good leader. We got some injuries in the backcourt and all of a sudden I started playing him at the 3-spot. And because he's a good defender and can move his feet (and) keep guys in front (of him), he likes the position."